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If you find yourself sitting in a restaurant in Paris, staring at a French menu, you might wish you knew something about French food and French wine. As a visitor, it’s likely that you won’t want to spend your time eating fast food in France. Traditional French cuisine is often diverse and imaginative; in France, food recipes change drastically from region to region. Experiencing French wine in a Paris restaurant can be a very memorable experience for a traveler in France. Knowing a bit about the history of French wine and French food will make your restaurant experience seem more complete.
Perhaps no other aspect of the history of French food is more interesting than the history of French cheese and French wine. Indeed, the general history of French cuisine is not much different than that of any other relatively diverse nation, such as Switzerland. However, the story of French wine is one of triumph and tragedy; a story of both prosperity and economic chaos.
In the middle ages, bishops dedicated vast plots of land to wine growing. Vineyards, producing both white wines and red wines, spread out across the French landscape, each controlled by a monastery. White and red wine would soon become the staple of the French economy, rising to become its chief export in the 16th and 17th centuries. As communication, transportation, and technology made the world smaller, the French marketed their wines across the planet. By in the mid-1860’s, however, disaster had struck: tiny root lice called phylloxera had attacked and destroyed all of the major French vineyards. The resulting wine shortage injured the French economy, reduced the supply of wine, and gave rise to several legal battles regarding the quality of French wine sold on the world market. Having recovered, French vineyards continue to please the world with red and white wines of all varieties, setting the standard for other wine-growing countries to follow. In 2002, over 5 million tons of wine was exported from France, making it the world’s leading producer of wine.
In France, traditional food is a core component of French culture. At Christmas, food in France consists primarily of baked ham, all types of fowl, fruits, pastries, candies, seafood, and cakes, sometimes shaped like Yule logs or served with sour cream. French red wine and French white wine is consumed, as well. French natives consume over 57 liters of wine and an amazing 45 pounds of cheese per capita/annum, much of it at Christmastime.
Expensive food in Paris, France is often called “classical cuisine,” due to the bourgeois nature of its origin. This illustrates the idea that, in France, food and drink is not only organized into types, but into classes.
French wines with French foods
French food and wine may be delicious, but the full splendor of food and drink in France can only be experienced in correct combinations. Find out what those are…
French food vocabulary
France’s food comes in many shapes and sizes. Learn all of the French names for food eaten in France…
Before You Know It
Get full French vocabulary lists with your download of Before You Know It Lite. This free, revolutionary flash card program from Transparent Language guarantees perfect recall. Learn more.
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French menus
Food from France can seem intimidating, especially if you are sitting in a restaurant in France and don’t know the language. Learn how to understand a French restaurant menu…
French Survival Phrases
The Eiffel Tower restaurant, Paris, offers some of the finest food and wine from France. If you have Paris restaurant reservations, you’re going to need to know more than how to read a Paris restaurant menu. Let us be your Paris restaurant guide. Learn critical French phrases, questions, and answers in order to survive a French restaurant in Paris, France or anywhere else…
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